Jet Crash-Lands in Indonesia

An Indonesian passenger jet crash landed immediately after taking off from an airport near the town of Pekanbaru on Monday, injuring seven people, officials said.

After hitting the runway, the Lion Airlines Boeing 737 came to a halt just off the end of the tarmac, said airline official Surya, who like many Indonesians uses only one name.

There were 96 passengers and crew on board. The state Antara news agency quoted passenger Azmi Ramli as saying the plane was 10 yards off the ground when it fell heavily back to earth at Pakanbaru, 420 miles northwest of Jakarta.

He said smoke was coming from the fuselage when the plane stopped. One of the engines fell off and the plane's right wing was damaged, he said. Emergency services extinguished the small fire.

However, Surya denied there had been a fire and said the plane was only slightly damaged.

Airport officials evacuated the passengers and crew. The injured were rushed to hospital. One passenger, from Singapore, suffered a broken leg, Antara said.

Surya said it was not immediately clear what caused the crash.

Lion Air is a privately owned Indonesian airline that serves only domestic routes. It has been operating for about two years with a fleet of eight Boeing jets. It is the first time it has had a serious accident.

In 1997, a Singapore-owned SilkAir Boeing 737 crashed just south of Pekanbaru during a flight from Jakarta to Singapore killing 104 people.